Like Iceberg v. Titanic, Shoehei, Lindor sink Greys Pummeled by LES in G1, Homestead responds with a G2 thrashing of their own, a G3 stunning comeback (courtesy of JoeyVotto's 2-out, 3-run homer in the 9th), and a G4 squeaker victory. ¶ Up 3 to 1 in the YogiSeries, things appear promising in GreysNation. ¶ His nerves fried by flight, Bip nervously listens to G5 from Turkey. BlakeSnell and two relievers keep Greys from crossing home plate. ¶ In their home 9th, Con-men score the game's only tally: FranciscoLindor scoots home from second on DeeGordon's RBI double. ¶ LES rally in G6 at Homestead to force G7. ¶ "I'm just shuffling the chairs on the deck the Titanic," says Greys boss RobertEmrich prior to the start of G7. No one tells Mr. Emrich not to board. ¶ Hommie stopper EdwinDiaz stands an out away from a trip to the World Series. Greys lead, 4-3. ¶ ShoeheiOhtani, double-switched in the 8th, is the final LES hope. ¶ It is Shoehei, Bip reminds us again, who he wanted in the BVL draft -- not RonaldAcuna Jr. Shoehei ties the game with one of the more dramatic home runs ever hit in BVL history. Bip's Scream is heard beyond Division Street. ¶ Without life jackets, Greys fans sink in their beers. G7 goes into extras. ¶ In the 13th, Lindor cracks a solo jack to snap a 4-4 tie. ¶ In the bottom of the 13th, SeanManaea retires the first two Greys but is told to walk lefty killer, KrisBryant. FranciscoCervelli is HBP and reliever WillSmith hits a flare that falls for a single. Like that, the Greys fill the bases. There are two outs. Trashcans are rocking in Homestead: they have their guy up, JoseAltuve. ¶ Manaea strikes out Altuve and the greatest game in Yogi history is over.

***

1947 BVL Review

The Mr. Charles Experiment and the walk-off Dot Hit

Mr. Charlesbecomes the most dangerous man in Banksville: he has an idea. The Banksville co-owner convinces Rob Fermann, the man who declared relievers are for losers, starters should pitch only 2 or 3 innings a start. It's no surprise the staff ends up with zero complete games, a BVL first. A fluke results in the only win by a Dog starter. Overall, they're 1-15. In 11 starts, TysonRosslogs a club high 37 innings pitched; Steven Strasburg throws 27 in the same number of starts. ¶ Brick Church's team ERA of 2.32 and stingy .190 hitting average highlights a pitching-dominated campaign that produces 57 shutouts, 18.6 strikeouts per game, and a league-wide average of .217. ¶On the whiff front, ChrisSale strikes out 20 Cubes in 10 innings. On pace to eclipse most strikeouts in a season, Sale ends up averaging 14.9 strikeouts a game (104 in 62+ IP) and finishes second to teammate JacobdeGrom(104 and 120, respectively). He misses his final 3 starts to injury. Sale and deGrom join MaxScherzer (102 strikeouts) and AaronNola (101) to form the KKKK Klub, the first squad with four starters averaging the equivalent of 300-plus strikeouts in a season. How about that? ¶Scrapper JackFlaherty is the other 100-whiff member. ¶Thumb through the final stats and you will find these sad averages: OzzieAlbies (BCF) .160 (32-200); MaxMuncy (LES) .159 (28-176); AlbertAlmora Jr.(NYK) .152 (24-158); and AaronHicks (NEG) .141 (23-163). Terrible. ¶But no one brings more tears to fans than BryceHarper. The Banksville lefty plays 51 games and sufferers a slump for All Time. He bats .138 (22-160). His average drops fours points as the Bulldogs are blanked 3 times in 5 games against Toronto. Disgusted, fans chant Blow It Up after a 1-0 loss. A petition to implode The Kennel, signed by twice the Banksville population, is delivered to Mr. Fermann's desk at season's end. Harper receives a standing ovation after he doubles in his last at-bat. It could have been worse. On Harper, Mr. Fermann says the following words, I feel sorry for the card.¶You gotta ask, if the league bats .217, who sits on the bottom of that list? Answer: the ice cold Indianapolis Ice Cubes, at .185. They are led by a trio of hitless wonders: BrianDozier .189 (35-185), DanielPalka.165 (32-194); EvanGattis .148 (22-148). To make matters worse, the Cube hits produce 2.4 runs per game. Not Good.¶Brick Church are crowned Kings of Downtown, dethroning NYC. The Foys go 9-3; Scrappers, 5-7; LES, 4-8. Note: Scrappers become the second expansion club to play above .500 in season two. Well done, Scrappers!¶Two-run, two-out, hit in 17th by Wilson Ramos gives Foys 2-1, cry of WAGA is born: What a Game, America. ¶Let's not forget AdrienBeltre's 2-out, walk-off Grand Slam that gives Brooklyn a 5-4 win over New England on Opening Day. Speaking of walk-offs, JoeyVotto delivers a rarity: a walk-off dot hit, against a tired Banksville reliever (there were many of those).

FEBRUARY6 At Homestead, LES wins G1 of the 1947 Yogi Series, 9-2: J.D. Martinez breaks open the game with a 3-run homer in the 8th; bullpen throws four hitless innings.7 At Homestead, Greys even the series with a convincing 13-1 victory: Francisco Cervelli highlights 5-run 4th with a 3-run homer; Brandon Nimmo 4-4, 2 runs, 3RBI.8 At Seward Park, Down 5-3 and the Greys an out away from defeat, Jose Altuve singles to left; Brandon Nimmo moves to second base. Joey Votto follows and crushes a 3-run home run off Collin McHugh. Greys win stunner, 6-5.11 At Seward Park, Steve Cishek is called to protect 1-0 game in 6th. He faces 3 batters: Brandon Nimmo, RBI double; George Springer, RBI double; and Trevor Story, RBI triple. Edwin Diaz strikes out side, protects the 3-2 victory. Greys up 3-1 in the series.16 At Seward Park, Bip listens to G5 from Turkey. Blake Snell blanks the Greys, allows one hit in 7 innings of work. Collin McHugh and Jose Alvarado throw 2 more goose-eggs. Greys stopper Edwin Diaz enters a scoreless ballgame in the 9th. Francisco Lindor says hello with a single. Geraldo Parra bunts Lindor over to second. Dee Gordon blows the roof off Seward with the walk-off RBI double. LES wins must-win, 1-0.17 At Homestead, With the Greys up 3-1 in G6, Joey Wendle and Francisco Lindor crack back-to-back doubles to start the Con-men 6th. Robbie Grossman walks and Dee Gordon lays down the sac bunt. Nick Hundley is intentionally walked. Shohei Ohtani's RBI groundout ties the game. Charlie Blackmon then snaps the tie with an RBI hit. J.D. Martinez smashes a solo HR in the 9th. The Con-men bullpen throws 4 shut out innings. LES win, 5-3. Onto to G7.22 At Homestead, "I'm just shuffling the chairs on the deck the Titanic," said Robert Emrich prior to the start of G7. The Homestead boss shows great courage and watches -- without a life jacket -- the Con-men take an early 2-0 lead and Martin Maldonado's solo homer in the 7th that breaks a 2-2 score. In the home 7th, catcher Francisco Cervelli puts the Greys ahead, 4-3, with a 2-run home run that clears the left centerfield wall (HR 1-12, out the rest). The Greys call on reliever Edwin Diaz to nail down the final 6 outs of the game. He gets the first 5. Shoehei Ohtani, double-switched by Bip in the 8th so that he would bat third in the 9th, is the final LES hope. Bip gives an emotional speech about how Shoehei was the man he wanted in the draft and not Ronald Acuna Jr. Shoehei responds by tieing the game with one of the more dramatic home runs ever hit in BVL history. G7 goes into extras. In the 13th, Francisco Lindor snaps a 4-4 deadlock with a solo home run. Sean Manaea retires the first two batters in the Greys 13th. With the bases clear, Sean Manaea is ordered to walk lefty killer, Kris Bryant. Francisco Cervelli is struck by a pitch. With the bench empty, reliever Will Smith pops a looper (1B 1-9, out the rest) that falls for a single! The bases are full with two outs. Holy, Lavagetto! Flashback to last year's one-game playoff at Toronto. Adam Jones sent LES home with a walk-off grand slam. Now, trashcans are rocking Homestead: Jose Altuve is swinging the lumber. With little left in his tank, Manaea strikes out Altuve to end a classic.